The Shaper of Worlds
by GrumpyBadger13
Summary: Tess has been abnormal for her entire life. Raised by S.H.I.E.L.D since a baby, she is thrust into the middle of a galactic war with the God of Mischief himself. With the Tesseract missing and Tess' powers growing with every passing day, she can't help but wonder, what is it that Fury has been hiding from her? Sucky summery. Loki/OC Rating might change later on.
1. Chapter 1

**New Avengers story. I'm still carrying on with 'Lady Penelope', but I've hit a bit of writers block with it so I thought I'd take a break with a new story. This time, a Loki/OC! I'm trying something a bit different this time, and I'm hoping that you'll all come to really like what I've got in store for you :) So without further ado, here's the very first chapter! Enjoy!**

Agents were busy minding their own business, bustling about the helicarrier as they carried out the tasks that they'd been given. No doubt everyone was preparing for the arrival of the super-humans the Director had assembled; Iron Man, Dr Banner A.K.A The Hulk, and Captain America.

Tess wandered aimlessly down one of the steel corridors. In a few months she'd be 21, and then she could finally say goodbye to the organization that she had practically been raised by; S.H.I.E.L.D. She knew that Coulson and Hill wouldn't be too happy about her leaving, but she needed time on her own to grow. She hadn't even told Fury about it yet, Lord knew she didn't need him on her back right now.

Tugging on the cuff of her favourite stripy tee she made her way to the control room in hopes of finding Natasha.

Walking quietly into the main room she found her sat at a large round table that she knew were for Fury's most casual meetings. She was stoic, remote…Detached. Tess knew why, something had happened to Clint, he had been 'compromised', as the agents said when she overheard them gossiping.

Sitting down in a seat next to the red head, Tess gently took her hand and held it. She knew how distraught her friend was, even if she wouldn't let it show. She'd always had a talent for knowing what others were feeling, even if they didn't quite know what the feelings were themselves. When she confronted Coulson about it in the past he'd always put it off as a 'talent', or 'woman's intuition'. For a while she naively believed him, but the older she got the less she believed him, so Tess had made it her mission since her 16th birthday to find out why. 4 years on though, and she still wasn't a single step closer to understanding herself.

"You know you don't have to do that." Natasha's quiet voice pulled her out of her reverie, looking down at their entwined hands she frowned.

"Do what?" She asked quietly, hoping that her question would just be ignored.

"Take it away. The pain of Clint being gone." Tess quickly pulled her hand away and bit her lip, looking down at her hands in her lap she rubbed them together nervously. "It's okay though, I know you can't help it sometimes."

Looking up she met the sad smiling face of her friend. She smiled sheepishly and sighed, "I know, I just…I just wish that I knew _why._"

Tess never knew her parents, not even their names. She'd always been in the care of S.H.I.E.L.D, which admittedly wasn't the best place for a person to grow up, but at least she could say that there has never been a dull day in her life.

She heard Tasha sigh and sit back in her chair, "Not even I can answer that one." She nodded and copied her friend, sitting back in her chair herself.

"I miss him too you know." She frowned, feeling the need to fill the silence that had fallen between them. She could feel Natasha's gaze on her, she can imagine her eyebrows pulled together in thought.

"I know."

"_Agent Romanov," _Tess glanced at Natasha's radio on her hip, "_Dr Banner and Captain Rogers are on the flight deck. Please bring them down here."_

Flicking the clip that held her radio securely to her waist, the red head pulled the radio to her mouth and sighed into it, "Yes Sir."

Natasha stood up and made for the door, "We'll get him back you know." Tessa said quickly before she left. When she didn't receive an answer, the young blonde nodded to herself. "I promise."

Tess sat patiently for her friend to return with the first two superheroes, soon enough, they arrived in all their geeky glory. Natasha took back her seat next to Tess, while Rogers and Banner paced about a bit as they took in the main control room in awe.

Captain Steve Rogers was a very well built, muscular man, with short blonde hair and bright baby blue eyes. His clothes were clearly reminiscent of days gone past, while Dr Banner dressed respectfully in a grey suit and a purple shirt. His brown eyes complemented his soft but aging face well, as did his slightly greying brown curls.

She watched as Steve handed Fury what looked to be a 10 dollar note before he walked over to greet Dr Banner.

"Doctor, thank you for coming." Banner hesitantly looked at Furys hand before shaking it quickly. His eyes scanned the room, "So uh…How long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear." He answered, Bruce took off his jacket and began to roll up his shirt sleeves. Natasha stood and walked over to look at a computer screen.

"Where are you with that?" He asked, noticing Tess sitting at the table for the first time he shot her a quick hello smile.

Coulson walked over to stand by Steve, Tess could practically feel his uneasiness rolling off him which elected a small giggle escaping her lips, seeing them both look over at her quizzically she held her hands up in mock surrender as a small blush appeared on her cheeks.

Coulson turned back towards Banner, "We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

Bruce frowned slightly and placed his glasses on his nose, "That's still not gonna find them in time, you've got to narrow your field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?" _Great_, Tess thought, _more techie talk._ It's not that she hated or disliked science, in fact she loved it, but sometimes she just couldn't stand talking about it.

"How many are there?" Steve moved away from the conversation and sat down next to Tess, she turned to him and smiled. She couldn't imagine him being too big on science talk either, seeing he was from the 1940's.

"Hi, I'm Tessa Peth, everyone calls me Tess though." He smiled a smile that made his eyes crinkle slightly at the corners, and she couldn't help but think that he was beautiful.

"Steve Rogers, it's a pleasure to meet you ma'am." Tess looked down to see an outstretched hand, her smile wavered slightly, hesitantly she gently took his hand in hers and prepared herself for what was to come.

_She was in a war, that much she could tell. Snow, and the feeling of numbing limbs from the cold were echoing in the back of her mind; pulling it in different directions. "Bucky!" Spinning around she could see Steve and a dark haired man on the side of a moving train. The man she assumed to be Bucky fell from the handle he had previously been clutching, and Steve cried out in pain and heartache._

_The scene flashed forward, a plane, she realised. "I gotta put her in the water." Steves voice echoed around her, spinning around she could see him in the pilot seat, a picture of a stunning woman on the dashboard. "8 o'clock on the dot. Don't you dare be late. Understood?" An English voice she assumed belonged to the woman in the picture drifted through, "You know I still don't know how to dance." She couldn't take anymore, squeezing her eyes shut she willed herself to return to reality._

"Ma'am?" Her eyes flashed open to Steve waving a hand in front of her, worry evident on his face. She smiled quickly before looking around to make sure she was back in reality.

"I'm fine, sorry, just…" She struggled to find the right words, words that he'd understand. Her eyes met with Coulsons knowing ones. "Just spaced out for a minute." She whispered, her mind reeling with questions.

"Agent Romanov, would you show Doctor Banner to his laboratory please?" She watched as the two left silently, leaving Tess with Steve and Fury. Coulson quickly jumped from his seat and into the one next to Steve, Tess stifled a laugh with her hand at the look of admiration he was giving the Captain. _Slightly creepy, _she decided.

"Hey Coulson," She couldn't resist causing a little bit of mischief, "how about you show Steve here you're trading cards?" His face lit up like a childs on Christmas, and Tess took this as her cue to leave.

She stalked slowly over to the Director, "What is it Tessa?" He sighed.

_How did he do that?_ She wondered, he knew when she was there every time without fail. "Uh…I was just wondering sir if I could talk to you about something." He turned and studied her for a moment with his one good eye before nodding.

"Well I know that you're busy saving the world and all, but I was hoping we could talk about what's going to happen when I turn 21 sir." Her voice wavered slightly, truth is that the Director had always intimidated her, _but then again_ she thought, _who isn't?_

He turned around to face her, eyes softening ever so slightly. "Tess-"

"Sir," An agent from a nearby computer interrupted, "We got a hit. Sixty seven percent match." Fury moved over to look at the screen quickly, while Tess stayed glued to the spot. Where they on about Clint? Had they found him? "Wait, cross that. Seventy nine percent."

"Location?" She could hear Steve and Coulson come to stand by her. Craning her neck to see the screen better, her hopes fell when she saw a picture of a pale man with jet black hair. _I guess we'll be finding Clint another day then._

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Canning Strasse." He looked up at Fury, "He's not exactly hiding."

Nick turned to look at a nervous Steve, "Captain, you're up."

**Do you like? If you do, then PLEASE leave me a little review and let me know what you think :) **

_**-ReadersAssemble!-**_


	2. Chapter 2

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Tess spun a pen between her fingers as she watched Bruce work. He'd been working on trying to get even a hint of a trace of the Tesserect for 6 hours now, and every time he set up the tracker signal, something was always there to interfere.

"No luck?" She asked, slightly aware of his growing frustration with the machine. Bruce looked over and smiled; a little crumpled, a little self-depreciating, still looking lost in his shirt like he buys everything a size too big without even thinking about it. He shook his head in defeat, smiling, Tessa walked over to look at the screen.

"I'd say that I'd be happy to help, but I'd probably just end up doing more trouble than good." She laughed half-heartedly as her eyes take in the information before her. Bruce's eyes hardened slightly when she stood by the scanner and screen, the signal was completely cut off now.

"Stand over there." He says stoically not taking his eyes off the glowing screen, Tess' head snapped up while her eyes grew wide with panic and rejection.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to uh…" She found herself falling over her words, "I didn't mean to offend you I just –"

Bruce quickly walked to stand by her. "Tess," He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder as her mouth shut audibly. He smiled a small smile, "I think I've just found something important, and I think it's you." Their eyes grew wide at the sentence before they both erupted into fits of laughter.

"I'll just go stand over there." She laughed, as she walked clutching her sides slightly, to where Bruce had pointed moments ago. "Here okay?" Looking up from the screen Bruce nods before tapping away at something.

After a few seconds, Bruce glances over to check that she's still where he told her to go. "Right, I need you do walk over here slowly." Giving a firm nod she began to walk with her hands in her jeans pockets.

"_Slowly!"_ Bruce chastised lightly; slowing her pace down slightly, she carried on walking with a smile on her freckled face.

"So why exactly am I doing this?" She asked once she reached the end of the desk, walking around to stand to the side of him she crossed her arms across her chest.

"I think…" Tess tried to peer over his shoulder to see what he was looking so intently at, nudging him with her elbow to continue, he shook his head. "Right, well. It seems that when you're near the scanner it seems that you…" he searched for the right word, "_interfere, _with it. It's like it thinks that you're what it's meant to be looking for instead of the Tesseract." His voice trailed off, tapping at a chart on the screen he stared intently at numerical data.

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "Are you sure you've set it to find the Tesseracts energy?" Bruce nodded as he fiddled with his glasses on his nose. Walking over to sit on a stool by the window, she began to cloud watch in the night sky.

"Maybe it's just playing up?" Looking out at the passing clouds she carried on, "My laptop does it all the time with its wireless connection, you'd think being aboard a high tech helicarrier you'd at least get decent wireless. But no they can't even get that right!" She sighed dramatically, placing her head in her palms.

Bruce chuckled and interrupts her monologue. "I don't think this is the same as bad internet connection…I'll have to talk to Fury about it. Do you know anything that could set it off like this?" Tess tensed, noticing her stiff posture Bruce sat down on a nearby chair.

"Tess, if there's something you need to tell me then now would be a pretty good time." His voice was soft, her hands fidgeted in her lap, he of all people knew about control. About how _out_ of control people feel sometimes. "It's not as if I haven't had any dealings with the weird and wonderful in the past." Finding herself smiling she twisted in her seat to face him.

Her eyes fell downwards, "I was raised by S.H.I.E.L.D you know. I never knew my parents, never seen a picture; I don't even know their names." The last part came out as an unintentional whisper. Coughing she turned in her place to face the man, "It started when I was 5, I think. When I meet people for the first time, when I _touch _them for the first time," She corrected herself, "I see kind of echoes of their past." Cringing inwardly she looked over to see a small smirk on his face.

"Echoes of their past?" He repeated sceptically, nodding he smiled and gestured for her to continue.

"I think it's the memories with the most emotional ties, like when I shook Steves hand earlier, I saw him cry out for his friend 'Bucky', and then him talking to a British woman through a radio just before he di- crashed." She corrected quickly.

Replacing his glasses on his nose, Bruce paced back towards the computer. "Is that all? Is there anything else strange?" He asked without even looking up from his screen.

_Yes. But you wouldn't believe me even if I told you. _"No, nothing else." She lied, how could she explain the rest when she didn't even know herself? _Besides, knowing what she could do without knowing the extent would be useless_, she reasoned.

"I'll talk to Fury, see what he knows. It might be something else entirely, but it's too much of a coincidence for my liking." His face formed that which resembles pure horror, like watching a particularly gory film alone at night on Halloween.

"Have you seen…My, past?" He questions hesitantly, looking at him as reassuringly as she could she shook her head; her blonde ponytail whipping from side to side.

"Nope." Making a popping sound at the end she smiled when a look of relief washed over his face. Setting back to his work she looks for something to occupy herself. Spotting a magazine sticking out one of the draws, she snatches it up and settles down at a table to let the good doctor get on with his work.

* * *

"In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass." They watched as Fury imprisoned Loki in what resembled a large fish-bowl, minus the water of course. He pressed a few buttons on a keypad before the floor beneath the holder vanished, "Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?"

Loki stepped away from the edge to stand in the middle, his feet spread firmly apart. His attire was regal, green and gold clashed with the harsh black colour of the leather. His face was pulled back into a cocky smirk, which only emphasised his angular features and his green eyes.

"Ant, boot."

"It's an impressive cage, not built I think, for me." His smooth accent carried itself through the speakers, sending a slight shiver down Tess' spine.

"Built for something a lot stronger than you." _Bruce._ Her eyes quickly sought him out, she could feel his anger flare, but only for a moment before he reigned it in again; it would seem that he had himself under more control than he realised.

Loki smirked and looked into the camera, "Oh I've heard. A mindless beast, makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you? That you call on such lost creatures to defend you?" He spat.

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill 'cause it's fun. You have made me _very, _desperate. You might not be glad that you did." He was pissed, which only added fuel to Loki's already burning flame. _This is what he wants._

"Ooh. It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, to have unlimited power. And for what?" An arrogant smirk stretched its way across his skin as he turned to look into the camera once again. "A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is."

Fury blinked, "Well let me know if real power wants a magazine or something." The screen faded to black as everyone looked at each other in turn.

"He really grows on you doesn't he?" Banner said light heartedly, but there was tension and anger behind his words. Deciding to play along, she threw in a jab for good measure, "Like fungi, or cancer." Banner smirked at her.

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor. What's his play?" They all turned to face the muscular blonde man in armour at the front, his long hair reached his shoulders easily, and his arms were unbelievably even bigger than Steves.

"He has an army called the Chitauri, they're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return I suspect for the Tesseract." His voice boomed around the hall as it echoed through the silence, it was deep but kind, and strangely reassuring.

Tess looked over at a wonderstrucked Cap, "An army, from outer space." The look of shock and undeniable un-believability was probably mirrored on her face, her involvement in this assignment was becoming hazier by the minute.

"So he's building another portal." Bruce stated simply while he fiddled with his sleeves again. Realisation struck Bruce like a ton of bricks as his mouth formed a small 'o' shape. "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

Thor spun around quickly, "Selvig?" _He's worried. Family? No…_Tess closed her eyes and concentrated on where he was, feeling for his energy that was so distinct from anyone else's in the room. _A friend._

"He's an astrophysisist." Bruce explained calmly to the hulking giant of a man, opening her eyes she began to watch the blonde man carefully.

"He's a friend." _He's not from Earth. That much is for definite. He mentioned Asgard…Why does that sound familiar?_

She squeezed her eyes shut as she began to block out the conversation around her and turned her concentration on trying to find a memory pertaining to the name 'Asgard'. It was there, she could feel it. In the back of her mind a dull shape of a golden city loomed, she tried to reach out to it but was pulled back to reality by a voice.

"It's a stabilizing agent." Her eyes snapped open once again to see Tony Stark wander into the room looking smart as ever in a suit, his trademark messy hair setting the look off.

"Means the portal won't collapse in on itself like it did at SHIELD. No hard feelings Point Break," He tapped Thor lightly on the bicep, Tess found herself smiling at the nickname as he continued. "You've got a mean swing."

Standing at the front of the deck, he looked out at the workers on their computers. "Er, raise the mizzen mast, ship the topsails." Most of the people in the room turned to look at him with disbelief in their eyes, she chuckled silently to herself as she watched the eccentric billionaire with amusement.

"That man is playing gallaga." Everyone turned to look at a bright red young agent he was pointing to, "Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did…." Placing one hand over an eye he turned on the spot to look at the four screens surrounding him. "How does Fury even see these?"

Tess let out a bark of laughter, "He turns!" After a silent kick to the leg from Natasha she clasps a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stop laughing.

Tony smiled at the young girl before continuing, "Sounds exhausting." Sarcasm dripped from every word. "The rest of the raw materials Agent Barton can get his hands on _pretty _easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source, one of high density. Something to kickstart the cube."

She watched as Hill gravitated towards the table, "When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" She asked in a bored tone that never seemed to leave her voice.

Grinning, he smirked in her direction, "Last night. The packet, Selvigs notes, the Extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?" He asked incrediously, but Tess knew better than to think that he's at all surprised. _Has to be the best, as always._

Steve shuffled in his seat slightly, "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?"

Bruce began to pace, and Tess knew where the conversation was headed; after a whole night in the lab with Bruce, she didn't think she could survive any more science talk.

She stood from her chair quickly, "Is there any way to get around this conversation of you two talking teckie while the rest of us sit here and pretend we know what you're talking about?" She exclaimed loudly, suddenly beginning to feel slightly self-conscious of all the eyes on her, she sank slowly back into her seat.

Stark frowned and walked to stand behind Tess' chair, "And who might you be? I don't remember receiving a file on you…" Opening her mouth to speak she was quickly cut off by Tony rambling on. "Are you even _old_ enough to be here? Who's babysitting you?" He sounded genuinely worried.

Laughing bitterly, she stood up from her seat to face the billionaire with an amused smile plastered to her sweet face, "Tess. And no, you wouldn't have received a file on me because Mr Happy over there," She pointed to Fury and Tony smirked, "won't even let _me_ see the file. Technically, no, I don't think I'm old enough to be here but since I've been here since I was just an ickle baby I doubt me hanging around now is going to do any harm."

Tony pushed his hand out for her to shake, "Well it's nice to meet you Tess. Looks like there will be some fun to be had around here after all." Faking a smile she lightly shook his hand as quickly as possible.

_Bombs, gunshots, blood, fire. Tony was in a cave with a tall foreign man with glasses on, "What is it?" He said lowly, Tony glanced at him before looking back at the glowing object before them. "It's an arc reactor."_

_The scene changed to that of a bathroom, Tony had his tie un done around his neck while his shirt was lightly open. A little machine on the counter read 'Blood Toxicity Level: 58%'. Tess' head hurt as she somehow ended up on a rooftop, Tony and Pepper Potts were stood kissing._

"You okay kiddo?" Her smile was taught; he scanned her face before walking over to Dr Banner. Letting out a quiet breath she counted to ten, sifting through the leftover emotions from Tony's past she tried to distinguish which were hers and which were his.

"Shall we play Doctor?" Her eyes met with Bruce's before they walked back to the lab, they were full of curiosity and worry. Sinking back into her seat she felt Thor sit down next to her; she glanced out the corner of her eye to see him watching her intently.

"You are, 'not from around here', as Midgardians say." He spoke gently, and as quiet as his deep voice could manage to keep the conversation private. Tensing, she relaxed once she realised that he might know something, even if he didn't, he might not freak out as much as Steve or Tony would.

Shaking her head she peaked through her hair at him, "I don't know really. I was never your average girl, I can…do things. Things that I shouldn't be able to." Thor listened as she turned her gaze towards the agents talking in hushed voices. He realised that she wasn't a midgardian once she stood and spoke, _what_ she was though was a different matter.

"I'm sure you will find yourself in time." He spoke the words his farther had aimed at him in his younger days, Odin always had a way of knowing what to say.

Tess nodded, smiling slightly she turned to face Thor. "That day can't come quick enough." Laughing lightly she stood from her seat and stretched. Coulson and Fury were talking animatedly in the corner of the room, their gazes flickering over to her every now and then.

"I'm _starved!_ You hungry big man?" The Asgardian grinned victoriously at the small girl as he stood.

"Let's feast!" Leading him out of the main room they started for the kitchens, she laughed loudly at him. "I doubt there will be a feast, but I can guarantee Pop Tarts, soda and burgers?" Patting her on the shoulder, he pointed forward with his hammer.

"To the pop tarts!"

**Bit of a long chapter, I hope Thor wasn't too OOC for anyone? I'm trying to get a good feel for writing him so it'll get better :) Slow start, but I think you'll all love who's coming in the next chapter ;) Free Tom Hiddlestons for all that review! :D**

_**-ReadersAssemble!-**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Quick thanks to everyone who has favourite, reviewed or followed! :) So yeah, THANK YOU! Oh and for all of you that have tumblr, follow me at .com :3**

There was always someone in the kitchen because it was the location of the coffee maker, which seemed to be more complex than most of the technology on the SHIELD bridge. Once, Clint and Tess had caught Natasha stroking it lovingly, and she had given them that 'you saw nothing, Barton, you either Peth' look that she had perfected many years ago.

"So," she poured a hot cup of coffee for herself, "have you ever had coffee?" She asked timidly, only imagining what would happen if a Norse God of Thunder got a caffeine high.

Thors brows crinkled and his arms crossed across his chest, "Is this the same sustenance I received from Jane?" He asked curiously.

Tess' face was a picture, her brows disappeared into her full fringe before shooting back down. "Uhh…Why don't you try some and see?" She watched as he looked at the mug of hot coffee warily. "Don't worry, it's nice. Just don't drink too much or you'll never sleep again!" She laughed, remembering when Clint had done the exact same once, just before him and Tash went to Budapest.

Thor quietly took his coffee and sat down at the breakfast bar. He watched the young girl, she couldn't be much older than 20, it was plain to see that she was much more a child still than an adult; no matter how much she tried to hide it. She pottered about the kitchen to prepare food while Thor sat patiently observing her. His mind wandered to thoughts of Asgard and Jane.

Tess smiled when she felt a strong emotion emit from Thor, silently she leaned on the counter and watched him. "What's she like?" She asked, biting her lip.

Thor was confused, who was who like? Then it dawned on him, "You can feel it?"

Nodding, she took a seat next to him at the breakfast bar. "I didn't mean to intrude or anything, it just kinda happens sometimes. I figured that she'd have to be someone _pretty _special to make you feel something like that." Picking at her nail varnish she waited for Thor to answer, but he didn't. Instead he just sat there in comfortable silence, enjoying the quietness that had fallen between the two.

"Hey Thor…Would you mind if I tried something?" She asked suddenly, she wanted to get it over with, that was a given. But she also wanted to see what Thor made of the situation with his brother; maybe she could pinpoint when Loki had turned bad…At least then she might bring something useful to the team.

Nodding he held out a large hand, placing her hands on them she prepared to be pulled into the past once again.

"_Loki!" A young Thor called to what appeared to be an empty library. "Loki I know you're in here!" Tess jumped as a young boy with jet black hair and perfect pale skin appeared in front of the young Thor. _

"_I have no time for games today brother." Loki said icily before walking back towards a bookcase. Thor made to follow, "But I thought we could go train together? It is after all the 3__rd__ day of the week, it's tradition now!" He tried to persuade but the younger brother was having none of it._

_Tess watched as pain and regret flashed across his face, "I need to practice my magic Thor, go train with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three." He sat down in front of a bowl of water, moving his hands slightly, snakes appeared in the bowl. Thor frowned._

"_Then I shall sit with you while you practice." Smiling, he sat down with his brother. The scene skipped forward to a courtyard, an older Thor stood with a beautiful black haired woman by a fountain._

"_Lady Sif I apologize but my brother is ill, I plan to keep him company while he is restricted to his chambers." Thor explained to who Tess assumed was lady Sif, he turned to make his way to Loki's chambers._

"_Why do you protect him?" She called out. Thor stopped mid stride, Tess' eyes flickered between the two; it was obvious that she didn't care much for Loki. "He is my brother, always." Thor turned to face her fully, rage written on his handsome face. "You would do well to remember that Sif." _

_They were stood on a rainbow bridge, Thor was holding onto a greying mans staff while Loki clutched at Thor. "I could have done it father! For you! For all of us!" He cried out, Tess stood watching as the man ground out, "No Loki."_

"You see into peoples past, and feel what they feel…There are stories of people like you." Tess' head snapped up quickly, her desperate eyes bore into his kind blue ones.

"So…You know what I am? Where I come from? I'm not from Earth am I?" She asked quickly, her voice breaking under the weight of her words. Was she from where Thor and Loki came from, from Asgard?"

Thor shook his large blonde head, he watched Tess' smile fade from her face; he took her hands in one of his large ones. "I do not know, there are only tales…" He caught her eye and smiled, "But once I am sure, then I shall tell you everything I know."

Nodding her head she sank onto the table and let out a large groan. Thor patted her on the back and let out a friendly bark of laughter.

* * *

Tony watched as Thor and Tess strolled casually into the lab, a smile on each of their lips and a laugh in their throats. Watching them so at ease when the world was at risk was kind of….Refreshing. Especially with Fury around putting everyone down.

"Hey you two, what's so-"

"What's that?" Tess murmered quietly, backing away from the table that was holding a staff type object with a glowing blue orb. She felt strange, like she was being pulled towards it, but being pushed as far away as possible all at once. She flexed her fingers to try and get rid of the itching sensation in them, an itch that was all too familiar.

"It's Loki's sceptre. We think it's got a part of the Tesseract in it, somehow it's connected to him." Bruce explained calmly, Tess was breathing heavily now, her white knuckles clutched the edge of a desk she was backed up against.

_No. Not here. Not now._ Squeezing her eyes shut she tried to focus on ridding herself of everything, of every thought and feeling that she'd ever had. Her fingertips burned, flicking her eyes open she looked to her hands; they were engulfed in a light blue flame that was all too familiar. Her normal pale blue eyes glowed brightly as they pleaded silently with Thor.

"Woah! Okay, why's she glowing? You're seeing that right?! She's on fire too, _fire!"_ Tony stuttered while he backed away with his hands out in front of him in surrender. Thor's mouth opened and closed in shock as he watched his new friend become more and more engulfed.

She was going to hurt them, she wasn't safe…Her eyes filled with crystal like tears as she turned to face Bruce. "Hit me!" She screamed.

Bruce's eyes widened at her request, "What? I can't hit you Tess!" He shouted, running his hands through his curls.

"_Someone just, HIT. ME. NOW." _She ground out through clenched teeth, no one was moving. Why weren't they doing as she said?!

"_You need to knock me out before this gets any more dangerous than it already is!" _She screamed while Bruce debated with himself internally.

"_Do it!" _She cried as glowing blue tears fell from her eyes. Breathing heavily, Bruce grabbed the nearest heavy thing to him and swung it at Tess' head. With a resounding thump, she fell unceremoniously to the floor in a heap.

**So I thought this would be a good place to cut it off, and I know there's no Loki like I said there would be but if I put him in this chapter then it'd be too rushed :P Not too sure if I like this chapter or not...Please remember to review, what do you guys think Tess is? Any ideas yet? :D**

**-**_**ReadersAssemble!-**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Just for reference, when Tess is engulfed in 'flames', imagine it to look like how Liz from Hellboy does :) If you haven't seen it then I suggest you do, it's pretty good! :P I'd also like to thank KilalaInara, Alara, Jadlynn, The-Fair-Lady, BaDWolF89, TheElegantFaerie, TheBrokenHeartedLamb, HP2011 and TheOnlyOneEv1D for reviewing; you guys are awesome! ^^**

"Healer! She is awakening!" The familiar voice of Thor was the first thing she heard when she came to. She forced her eyes to open and looked around, the walls were a vanilla colour, but seemed darker with the lack of windows; she could smell flowers somewhere, probably on a side table.

Waiting patiently for the nurse to finish her vitals, she faced Thor with a grimace on her face. "I didn't hurt anyone did I?" Her voice was hoarse and burned with each word, she winced.

"Here." Thor handed her a small glass of cool water with a straw in, he watched her sip the liquid slowly before placing it on the table. "No, you harmed no one but yourself." Sitting up she nodded solemnly, her hands were wrapped in bandages and gauze; she won't need them by tomorrow, she always healed fast.

"So when can I leave?" She asked the quiet nurse, she was taking down information when Tess interrupted her.

"Your vitals seem normal, and it's obvious that you haven't sustained any permanent damage…" Tess tensed while the nurse shone a light into her eyes and checked her tongue. Standing up she smiled brightly at the two, "You're alright to leave whenever you feel ready," Tess fist pumped the air, "after Director Fury and Agent Coulson have debriefed you." Her smile fell as the nurse smiled sympathetically before leaving.

"Well this sucks." Tess huffed and crossed her arms.

"Tell me about it Miss Peth," Fury and Coulson entered to stand by the foot of her bed, Fury's eye flicked from her to Thor. "Thor would you mind if we talked to Miss Peth alone for a while?" Thor looked at Tess for approval, nodding, he stood and turned to her.

"I shall be with Son of Rogers in the training arena if you need me." Tess smiled kindly at him as he left, it disappeared when the door clicked shut; she knew what was coming next.

"Miss Peth," Fury started, she sighed in defeat.

"I know," She put on her best Fury impression, "_you should act more responsibly, learn to control your feelings. You should know by now –"_

"Miss Peth,"

She continued relentlessly, "_what your triggers are. How many times do I have to –"_

"_Miss Peth."_ He raised his voice over hers, her mouth shut with a small smile. Coulson and Fury pulled chairs up to the side of her bed and sat down.

"We understand that this time your…_talents. _Were set off by the tesseract," Fury glanced sideways at Coulson. "We know that you've been practicing your abilities with agent Barton." Her fists clenched as the memories came flooding back. "We need you on the team Tess, I know that you don't think that you have anything to offer but trust me," Their eyes met from across the room, "you have more than you think."

Looking into her lap she heard them leave. How had Fury known about her training with Clint? He'd taken to training her once she confided in him about her powers, they'd meet up twice a week in secret; sometimes even Natasha would tag along.

In the beginning not a lot of training would be done, it'd usually be her talking through her fears with him; mostly her fears of herself. Clint thought it was a good idea to get your fears out and overcome them, he'd told her storied of all the time's he had accompanied Agent Coulson to recruit certain people with special talents to ease the conversations when they got too serious. She could remember on one occasion when he told her that even he was scared sometimes, though he never showed it. She nearly didn't believe him when he told her that, that was one of their many conversations that always stuck out to her.

"_Even I get scared sometimes though, so you're not the only one." He said quietly, swinging his legs through the bars. They were sitting high up in the rafters of the training room; that's where they always had their talks._

_Tess laughed lightly, "You? Scared? Never heard of it!" Clint glanced down and smiled slightly, but it wavered; noticing this, she frowned and kept quiet._

"_I get scared that I can't. __I mean, I can't miss. If Fury and Coulson's plan comes together then me and Tash are gonna be with super – humans 24/7. And one god, in case you've forgotten." He'd been telling her of his tales with the heroes over the past few years, she always looked forward to them. "The training is the only thing that makes me special. And if I'm not special, then none of this is worth it. I gave up a lot for this life...But I wanted to play with the big boys. And if I miss, it means I'm just another dude with a bow. It means I've been fooling myself this whole time.__" He looked up from his reverie and threw an arm around Tess' shoulder with a smile. "__And that's why I never miss."_

A silent tear fell from her eye at the memory. She knew what she had to do; she had to get her friend back. Not just for her but for Natasha too. Swinging her legs over the side of her bed she made to find her clothes. Piled in the corner on a lone chair sat her favourite jeans and tee. Shrugging them on, she quickly shoved her converse on and opened the door.

She peaked her head out, no one was in sight. Walking confidently down the hallway, Tess threw her hair up into a messy ponytail. The helicarrier could be quite eerie if you were walking alone, especially when there were no agents wandering around. Taking a left and then a right, she stopped in front of the door. Taking a deep breath as she punched in her key code, she walked into the room.

* * *

Loki's head snapped up when the doors opened, no doubt it was that Russian agent again trying to interrogate him. He was surprised though, when a small blonde girl walked timidly into the room. He watched her watch him, her eyes only glancing away when she pulled a chair in front of his cage.

"Hi," She managed weakly, "You're uh, Loki, right?" He didn't move or say a word. Undeterred, she continued. "I'm Tess. So…Hi." She smiled weakly, when he didn't move she observed him properly.

His angular face was more handsome in person than in pictures, as was his slick black hair. His clothes were similar to Thor's, but Loki's were more rugged than royal; like he'd been living somewhere rough and remote. She tried to read his feelings with her eyes open, not wanting to close them around him. Sighing, she closed her eyes quickly to get a reading. _Envy. Hate. Love. Curiosity. Loathing. Want._

"You're a curious one, aren't you?" Her eyes flew open to see him stood right in front of her, pressed against the glass. Gasping, her hand flew to her mouth. _Don't show fear. That's what he wants._ Bringing her hand down from her mouth, she laughed slightly and smiled at him.

"Oh dear, you scared me quite a bit there." His eyebrows frowned, "You know for a tall man you certainly don't make much noise do you?" He pushed off the glass with his arm and started to pace.

"What are you?" He asked venomously, still pacing.

Tess watched him patiently, "I'm Tess, a student at the local college."

His hands clenched into fists as he threw himself at the glass. "No. _What are you?"_Loki spat.

Tess mimicked his fists and stood herself, "I am _sick and tired_ of people asking me that is _what_ I am." Feeling the familiar sensation in her fingertips, she breathed out slowly before sinking back into her chair.

"You're Thor's brother right?" She asked calmly, Loki watched her. She wasn't human, that much was clear to him when her energy flared a moment ago. It was familiar, but completely alien too. He knew that she had tried to read him, some Asgardians have that talent and tried it on him many a time when they thought he didn't notice. Could she be an Asgardian? _No, the feel of it is all wrong._

He decided to play along, "Adopted brother." He corrected.

"Does it really make a difference?" She asked lowly, tugging at her sleeve cuffs.

He noticed the fidgeting but ignored it. "Does it really make a difference if I ask you what you are again?" She crossed her arms as he smirked. "I'll take that as a yes shall I?"

"It's completely different and you know it." She pouted slightly, which only increased his smirk.

"Oh?" He asked teasingly, "How about you tell me while I pretend to listen?"

Unfolding her arms she stood, "Why do you pretend to hate him so much? What is it that he's done to you?" His smirk fell from his face; turning so that his back was to her he frowned.

"You know nothing of my story."

Tess smiled condescendingly, "On the contrary, I think I know a darn sight more than you think I do."

Her features changed to show sympathy. "Why don't you just join them Loki?" He half turned to look at her, "It's not too late, you can help them. Thor misses you –"

"I will not go where Thor is." He says with venom and sadness in his voice.

"Which explains why you're planning to attack Earth after only attacking it last year." She points out, he walked to face her. "I'm sensing some hypocracy here, and some really obvious attention issues." Her voice had taken on a certain Tony Stark quality with the banter, she'd never been very good at it before; not until she started to hang around him that was.

"I grow tired of this conversation now." Was his only reply as he turned his back to her. Tess didn't miss the pain the flickered across his face. Standing she made her way towards the door.

"I'll be back tomorrow to talk to you properly." Pushing a button the door opened smoothly, "Oh and Loki?" He heard her call back, "I think it's sad that you spent so much time wallowing in the fact that you weren't Odin's favourite…You completely missed the fact that you were Thor's." Casting a sad smile his way, she left him to ponder her words.

**She's finally met Loki! I didn't quite know how to make their conversation go so I just kinda went with whatever came first :) Also, you guys like the idea of Clint being a kind of big brother to her? Please review, they make my day! ^^**

-_**ReadersAssemble!-**_


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry please don't sacrifice me to Loki! …Or do, you know, I wouldn't complain. But any who, I suppose you're all wondering WHY I haven't updated in, what is it now? 5 months? Well, here it is. I left college, went through a complete mental breakdown and quit everything. But I'm feeling better now and things are starting to look up so I decided that it's time to come back to your guys, who I've missed dearly! Just as much as I've missed this story, which I can't wait for you guys to continue reading (hopefully, if you forgive me?) But yeah, here's the next chapter. I hope you like!**

Tess waited until she heard the doors click to an automatic shut behind her before slowly wandering down the hallway. From what she had seen in Thor's feelings and memories, he truly did love his brother, so what had caused Loki to turn? From what she could tell he had always had a taste for mischief, but nothing like this. Nothing like what had gone on last year in New Mexico.

Walking quickly down a sloped corridor she came to the training room, where she assumed her new friends would be; her guess was right. Thor was working a punching bag, after Steve had graciously shown him what it is that is, and was now unceremoniously punching the living crap out of it. Bruce was sat at a table placed on the far right side with a laptop in front of him, and Tony to his left, both sat in almost the same position. Steve was busy working on one of the training dummies that were lined up by the far wall.

She sat down quietly next to Natasha, "So," She started, "do any of them know that the training dummies have been unofficially named Tony Stark, by, well, everyone?" She laughed as Steve kicked the head off of one. Natasha giggled herself before caressing her mug of coffee lovingly.

"Probably, but knowing Tony he already knows and wears it as another badge of pride." She mused before sipping her drink.

Natasha placed her mug down next to her and glanced at her young friend worriedly. "I heard you had another episode." She mumbled solemnly.

Episode. That's what Clint had started to call them ever since they'd started, she can remember the first time it happened, it was as innocent and reckless as getting dumped by her first boyfriend at 15. She was heartbroken, and broke down in tears in the middle of a training session with Clint. That's when they started, she'd get a burning in her fingers and a searing pain through her head. It'd always start in her fingers before engulfing her entire body and –

"Tess?" She broke out of her thoughts and looked at the worried face of her friend.

"Yeah, sorry." She smiled apologetically, "I was just thinking about how-"

"Clint used to call it an episode…I'm sorry I completely forgot." Tess shook her head and smiled.

"Don't be, everyone says it now anyway." Natasha nodded and dropped the tender subject of the missing agent, picking up her mug she downed the rest and said a quick goodnight to Tess before leaving.

Thor walked slowly over to Tess, wiping the sweat away with a towel before flinging it out of the way. He beamed down at her while sitting next to her on the bench.

"You are feeling better I see." He grinned down at her gently, she was distant, he assumed that something was said once he left the healing room. "Was Son of Coul and Son of Fury too forward with you?" His mind flickered, "Should I have stayed?" He asked as his voice grew slightly louder.

Tess smiled and placed a hand on his forearm, "No Thor it's fine, they…They asked me to join the team," her eyes scanned the room, "to join you guys."

"But," She continued as she stretched her legs out in front of her, "they didn't tell me what I could do. All that was said was '_you have more than you think.'_" She imitated Fury's voice as best as she could before making a face. "What does that even mean?!"

Thor pondered for a moment before sighing, "It has been a busy day, and it is late." He glanced down at her dreary expression, "And from the look on your face you are clearly tired." He chuckled which earned a mock-angry glare from Tess.

"I suppose," she yawned and made to stand up, but sat back down quickly when she remembered something. "Thor I went to see Loki." She rushed out, Thor's reaction changed to anger quickly. _Explain yourself, you don't want an angry God on your ass._

"Why would-"

"He asked me what I am, like you did and…" She trailed off not knowing where she was going with her point, looking down wearily into her lap she sighed heavily. "Is Asgard a city of gold? I think it's gold." She mumbled.

Thor was taken back, "Why would you think that?" He asked curiously while Bruce and Stark watched them.

Tess shrugged, "Back on the control bridge I was trying to feel through your memories, for one named 'Asgard', I thought I heard that name before but…" She stared at her palm for a moment, "I remember it as gold, even though I've never seen it. Does that make sense?" She asked desperately, she thought that they were Thor's memories of seeing the kingdom but they were too _wrong_ to be Thor's.

He smiled gently and stood while offering his hand to her, "Perfect sense." She sighed in relief and let him pull her up. "Now, I shall escort you to your sleeping chambers before you sleep where you stand." She pouted before silently agreeing, she had to admit, her bed did sound welcoming.

* * *

Natasha is just as stoic and scary when she's walking around the kitchen in yoga pants as she is when she's jabbing Tony in the neck with a needle. She spends about ten hours a day attempting to become even deadlier than she already is, and enjoys ambushing unsuspecting agents in order to do so. Today though, she had super-humans to use instead.

"Will you make her stop glaring at me? It's making my cereal uncomfortable." Tony complains as Tess walks into the Hellicarrier kitchen/dining room. If could have taken a picture, she would have.

"This has got to be one of the most amusing things I've ever seen." She muses as she sits down at the table. "Tony Stark in his PJ's feeling threatened by a grouchy morning person,"

"Uh, my cereal was the one who felt threatened. Not me" Tony corrected while Natasha glared over her mug of coffee.

Tess continues with a grin on her face, "Bruce and Steve looking as smart as ever in their attire, and Thor, the demi god, who is sitting here as casual as ever in flannel PJ's eating a mountain of pop tarts." She let out a short bark of laughter and clapped her hands together.

Bruce folded his paper and placed it on the table with a smile, "Are you feeling better after…" He struggled to find the right word. "Episode?" She offered with a small smile, to which he nodded gratefully.

"I'm feeling fine thanks, what are you all doing today? Saving the world stuff I have no doubt." She laughed and poured herself some cereal before shoving a spoonful of coco pops into her mouth.

"More testing on Loki's sceptre." Tony said from the sink, which reminded her; she had to go talk to Loki again today. _Maybe he's in a better mood than he was yesterday._

"Right," She said as she ate her last spoonful quickly while placing her bowl in the sink, "I'm off to see the wonderful wizard of Oz." She sang before skipping out of the room, her golden hair bouncing around her as she did.

Steve smirked, "I understand that reference."

Thor however simply frowned and looked at Bruce, "Who is this wizard she speaks of? Will she come to harm?" Bruce shook his head in despair while Tony rolled his eyes and began heading towards the lab.

"Foreigners." He mumbled on his way out.

* * *

Loki smiled when he heard the door open and shut and felt that familiar energy penetrate the room again. "You came back, like you said." He turned around to see her sat in the chair she was in yesterday, a nervous look on her face once again.

"Yeah, like I said." She answered lamely. She shuffled in her seat and flattened the hem of her dress before smiling kindly through the glass.

"So why, may I ask," He walked forward and stopped at the edge of the glass. "did you come to see me?" Loki watched in amusement as her mouth opened to talk, "I have many names, but, 'the wonderful wizard of Oz' is not one of them." He smirked cockily.

Tess blushed slightly under his gaze before furrowing her brows in confusion, "What? How did you hear that? I was all the way over the other side of the hellicarrier!" She shouted in confusion, standing up she poked the glass that separated them.

He ignored her and began pacing his cell again, "And to answer your question…" He turned his back to her as his face grew forlorn, "Yes, Asgard is a city of gold."

Tess' expression softened at his tone, closing her eyes while his back was turned she attempted a read. _Sad. Abandoned. Lonely. Desperate._

Her eyes flew open quickly, she started to blink rapidly to try and dispel the feelings that were so _cold._ "I came here to talk to you, Thor said-"

"I will not speak of my brother!" He spat at her, but she smiled inwardly at the hope that sentence gave her. _At least he called him his brother._

"If you let me finish I was going to say that Thor said there were stories, of people who can do what I can do." Loki turned around to watch her. "I thought, that maybe you would tell me them?" She asked timidly with her face scrunched up in hope.

"And what is it pray tell, that a creature like you can do?" Tess watched warily as he stalked forward in his cage, there was a sense of something predatorial in his gaze as he closed the gap between them.

She shook it off quickly before deciding on a new topic, one that had been bugging her for a while. "What's in your sceptre?" She asked nonchalantly as she crossed and un-crossed her legs beneath her.

Loki stopped his staring and smiled slightly at how quickly and innocently the topic had changed, "It's powered by the Tesseract." He watched her as she nodded solemnly, annoyingly she didn't give away anything.

He furrowed his brows and studied her; she was pale, with long blonde hair, a familiar blue eyes with freckles that lightly dusted her nose. She was attractive, but that was beside the point.

"I would have thought that your friends had figured that much out by now." He laughed, which caused her head to flick up and reveal a small smile.

"That's team mates." She grinned before jumping up and beaming at him.

His face contorted in confusion, "Team mates? I thought you were-"

"I was made a part of the team yesterday," She breathed, "which means that I have something I need to be doing." She looked over at the door before looking back at the man before her.

She frowned slightly, "I'm sorry, we were supposed to talk more but I think I just realised something important so I'm going to go before I forget it." She shot him an apologetic smile before heading for the door.

She turned back to see him standing in the same position as the doors slid open, "Bye Loki, talk to you later." She waved a good bye before slipping out the door and proceeding to walk down a corridor to Fury's office.

If she was going to be a part of this team, then she damn well deserved to know why. She deserved to know everything, and this time, she wasn't going to back down until she knew everything.

**So? Did my writing get really bad in my away time? Did this really suck? Were they really out of character? GAH! I don't know. I hope you all liked it, you'll be finding out soon what's going on with Tess, any comments about how I should start making Tess and Loki closer and friendlier would be very much welcomed! Remember to leave a review?**

_**-Readers Assemble!-**_

**P.S.****I promise I won't make you wait 5 months for a chapter update again, I swear. * Gives you a virtual cookie and Loki doll.***


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to Sam0728 and HP2011 who reviewed, I hope you're enjoying the continuation :) I can't wait for you guys to find out what I have in store for you; it's gonna be big!**

"But sir-" Tess complained loudly while being ushered out of Fury's office, her plan didn't exactly go the way she wanted it to, in fact, it went the complete opposite.

Tess turned around to face Nick who was stood in the doorway, "I'm sorry Tess," He said remorsefully, "but until we know that we made the right decision then we can't let you see your file. It's –"

"Strictly classified information." Folding her arms across her body she shook her head in disappointment, "I know. You've told me every other time I've asked." Her voice grew quiet as she walked back down the corridor towards Loki's cell.

Stomping her way towards the door she punched in her code key before sitting down roughly in front of Loki's glass cage once again.

"You seem…" She shot him a warning look, which only caused him to smirk more. "Nevermind." She didn't even have to look at him to know he was grinning, she could hear it in his voice.

"Well, I'm back. Seeing as my plan didn't exactly go my way…" She trailed off while watching Loki move forward to stand in front of her again. His eyebrow quirked in question. "I went to see Fury, I was _determined_ to find out what's in my file…What everything's about but," She shrugged her shoulders at him and sunk backwards, "apparently it's so top secret that even _I'm_ not allowed. And it's _my_ bloody file!" She fumed, the sudden anger suddenly melted away when that similar feeling of disappointment settled in her stomach, slowly sitting backwards she began to twist her curls around her finger.

"Why did I even come here?" She half laughed at herself, she'd meant to go and find Thor and ask him to tell her tales of Asgard but instead…

Loki looked to her feet for a moment in confusion, _why would she not be allowed to see her own file? Does she know nothing of her past? _"So you know nothing?" He asked cautiously which caused Tess to look up at him through her hands.

She shook her head slightly, "Not really. Nothing that I haven't discovered for myself." She smiled kindly up at him, but he couldn't help but think it looked more like sadness.

"Why do you not rebel? Turn against them?" He inquired quickly.

Tess turned defiant, "What? Like you did? Because that's worked out so well so far." She watched as his face fell, if only for a moment. "I'm sorry," She stood up and walked forward slightly, "I didn't mean that. Sometimes my emotions get the better of me." She laughed at how true that could be, and to try and ease the awkwardness that had settled between them.

He waved his hand in dismissal and began to pace. Biting the inside of her cheek she grabbed the cuff of her jacket, "Loki?" She asked hesitantly.

He turned to face her, "What do you know about the Tesseract?" He began walking forward again, "I was going to ask Thor about it but I don't want to go near it after-" Her eyes grew wide as he stopped walking and stood still with a curious look on his pale face, "I mean uh…." She cleared her throat and tried desperately to think of something.

"After what?" He questioned quickly, "_What?"_ He spat at her again with desperate venom in his voice.

Tess frowned, "Well if you'd stop yelling at me like that then maybe I would tell you!" She shouted back as she sat down cross legged in front of him. Loki rolled his eyes and looked at her sitting on the floor.

"After what?" He asked softer, sitting in the same position as her.

She eyed him cautiously, "It's hard to explain…I was talking with Thor and we decided to go see how Tony and Bruce were getting on in the lab so we walked in just like normal but then…" He watched as the scene replayed before her in her mind, "then it was _there_ and it was like," She looked him straight in the eyes, "it was like I was being pulled towards it but being pushed away at the same time. And then I got that _itching_ that happens and-"

She broke the gaze and looked down ashamed, "My fingertips burn first." She admitted, Loki was side-lined with a million thoughts running through his mind at a million miles a second as to what could have possibly caused the Tesseract to affect her that way.

"Then it works its way all over and before you know it I'm engulfed in blue flames." She glanced over at him bitterly, "Apparently even my _eyes_ glow blue when it happens." She scoffed and shook her head.

He needed more, he needed to know _why._ "This was the first time?" He asked quietly as he leant forward, mimicking sympathy in order to try and gain her trust. Perhaps then…

She laughed a short, sharp humourless bark which quickly brought him out of his reverie. "No, it wasn't the first time. Usually it happens when I get too worked up, Coulson calls them triggers." She eyed him as she rested her head in her hands. "And sorry Mister but you can't feign sympathy with me, doesn't work when I know how it feels." Smiling triumphantly she watched as he looked at her curiously.

"What _are_ you?" He wondered aloud to himself, Tess half shrugged once again and looked around before looking back to find him still staring at her curiously.

"They didn't give you a bed?" There was nothing in the cage, which is what everyone had taken to calling it. Not even a chair, just, nothing.

Loki grinned tiredly, "I doubt making sure their prisoner is comfortable is very high on their list of priorities." _Then I'll make it be._

"Back to your original request," Her attention was brought back by his soft voice, "You want to know about the Tesseract." He smiled genuinely as she nodded quickly, it was almost childlike.

"Few items in the universe could ever compare to the sheer power of the Tesseract. The power within the Cube allows whoever wields it to literally reshape reality around him. Virtually anything is possible, from the raising of mountains and commanding the power of the elements to opening dimensional portals and transforming your enemies." He explained carefully, trying to make it as simple as possible.

He smiled when she seemed to be truly curious about it, about the weapon that was to bring about the destruction of her world. "There have been many Tesseracts, which are known as Cosmic Cubes." He continued, "There was one tale that I was told when I was young," He paused for a moment and shifted uncomfortably, "of a cube that began twisting reality uncontrollably. That the cube was…" His eyes travelled from his fidgeting fingers to the curious face of the woman in front of him.

"What?" She asked impatiently, "What was it?" Her blue eyes pleaded with him as they pierced his mind and embedded themselves unknowingly in his memory.

They both quickly stood up when the door slid open to reveal Thor walking towards them. "Brother what lies have you-"

Tess looked between the two asgardians and stood in front of Thor with her hands on her chest in an attempt to stop him from doing something stupid. "Thor Loki was just-"

"Why are you even here?" He boomed down at her before pushing her behind him protectively.

Loki glared at Thor with slit eyes for a moment before spinning and turning his back on them both, turning cold once again. "I am not your brother."

"Loki-"

"It would be wise for you to leave Tess, before this oaf accidentally hits you with his toy hammer." She felt herself blush slightly as his ice blue gaze pierced her own; until Thor blocked his view of her of course.

"Leave me, Thor." He spoke icily.

"Very well brother." Thor spun and wrapped an arm around Tess, leaving Loki alone to his thoughts.

Once they were outside Thor turned to Tess and placed his large hands on her small shoulders, "What were you thinking?" He began, "What did he say to you?" His booming voice commanded easily.

She smiled at him, "We were just talking. I asked him to tell me about the Tesseract, so he did." She said plainly as they headed off down a corridor. Thor frowned, observing the small smile she wore on her pretty face. He would have to more careful next time, make sure that she doesn't interact with him anymore.

* * *

Nick Fury sighed heavily as he leaned on the desk in front of him. Coulson was playing the most recent security tape from the Loki's cell, which didn't just show Loki. Apparently Tess had taken to paying him visits. The tape cut off as Thor pulled her from the room.

Coulson spun in his chair to face Fury, "Sir? What action do we take?"

Nick sat down wearily at his desk and rubbed his hands over his face. "Do we know what they were talking about?" He asked tiredly.

Coulson shook his head and rewound the tape. "No sir, the security tapes are strictly no audio."

Fury nodded, "Well then," He stood up and looked out at the control deck, "we do nothing."

"But sir don't you think that Loki may figure it out?"

"Possibly," He turned to look at Phil, "possibly not. We need her on the team, at her full potential. The only downside is we don't know what that is yet." He looked back at the deck with weary eyes, "Loki however, seems to know more than he's letting on. So I say let them talk, see what information she gets and we observe how her behaviour and powers react in turn."

Phil bobbed his head in agreement, "So we don't tell her that we know?" He confirmed.

Fury grimaced, "We don't tell her we know." He repeated.

* * *

**Ohhhhh! How did you guys like the talking between the two of them? Any suggestions? What does Loki know? He's figuring it out, but how will he use this new found information? Well, you'll just have to continue reading to find out ;) Remember to review!**

_**-Readers Assemble!-**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you everyone for your reviews! They make me so happy when I get an email saying that someone has reviewed or alerted to this story; I've got so much planned that I'm so glad that people are reading it and enjoying it. I think you'll all like this chapter, at least I hope so anyway!**

Tessa gasped and sat up on the cold ground, from what she could gather she was on some sort of mountain ledge. "Great," She mumbled to herself as she stood up and brushed her clothes down. "Where the hell am I?"

She shrieked and jumped backwards as Loki was thrown down onto the mountain by Thor. "What?" She ran over to the two, Loki was still lying on the ground laughing while Thor was glaring at his brother. "Hello?" She asked with creased brows, waving a hand in front of Thors face.

"Where is the Tesseract?" Thor roared and raised Mjolnir, turning she looked down at Loki who began to stand before brushing himself off.

"Oh I've missed you too." He laughed sarcastically. Tessa was pleasantly surprised, having figured out that they couldn't see her she stood next to him and compared heights; it was safe to say that he was at least a whole foot taller.

"Huh." She pondered a moment as Thor and Loki began their conversation, "So, if they can't see me I assume that this is their memory." Quickly closing her eyes she focused on the energy, the feeling of the memory. _Desperation. Frustration. Love. Empathy. Sympathy. _She frowned and looked at the arguing Gods, "Thor."

"But I don't understand the last I remember I was in bed!" She shouted at herself when two crows cawed, she glared and turned to face them. "No one asked you bird brains."

"You listen well brother. I-"

Her hand flew up to her face in shock when what looked to be Iron Man knocked Thor off the top of the building, leaving Loki standing alone.

"I'm listening." He said to himself before settling down against a rock. Tess wandered over and watched him carefully.

"You know, for a 'power hungry God' you're very well behaved. Just sitting there…" She waved her hand at him and started pacing. "Which could only mean that you wanted to be took to be captured…" Realisation took over as she watched his face grow bored. "Oh you really are too clever for your own good."

* * *

Sunlight bore through the blinds of her room, bathing her in the warmth of its rays. Frowning in annoyance she rolled over and pulled the quilt over her head to try and hide from the light. Her door slid open and footsteps were heard making their way over to her bed.

"Come on sleepy head," Natasha shook her shoulders before proceeding to pull the covers off her. Tess groaned and curled up in a ball to try and stay warm, "it's eleven o clock you've had more than enough sleep." She laughed and dodged a pillow that came flying at her head.

Sitting down at the edge of her bed she watched as Tessa sat up in annoyance with a pout on her face, "Not a lot actually-"

"Don't tell me you were sat up on that stupid website again, how many hours-"

"No I weren't actually!" Natasha cocked her head to the side in question, "Okay so I was on it for a couple of hours," Natasha sat back looking satisfied, "BUT, that wasn't what I meant!" She huffed and followed her friend down towards the kitchen.

"I had a dream," She said while ignoring the agents who gave her funny looks, "When you captured Loki, did Thor take him from you?" She asked quietly, watching her friend spin around to face her with a confused face she quickly explained.

"I think I saw it. In my dream, but I don't think it was a dream I think it was a memory; Thors." They began walking while she explained further, "It felt like Thor, how he would feel…It's hard to explain." She frowned as they walked into the kitchen, sitting down next to Thor Natasha placed a plate of jam toast in front of her. Smiling over at her thankfully she began to eat.

"I think we need to start exploring," She began, "experimenting."

Tess could see Thor eying her plate as she ate, "What do you mean?" She asked puzzled and slid her plate towards Thor. Smiling when his face lit up she turned her attention back to the subject at hand.

"I mean, that maybe we should see what you can do." Tess looked at her worriedly, "I just mean that there's a reason that Fury's asked you to be a part of this team. So if he won't tell you, then why not figure it out for yourself?" She explained while painting her nails a bright red colour.

_Yeah…And I know just where to start._ Grinning she jumped up enthusiastically which caused Thor and Natasha to send her an amused look. "You know what Tash? I think I know _exactly_ who I need to see."

Thor rose from his seat and followed her out of the room and down the corridors, "Tessa," He smiled kindly as her small frame spun to face him. "Thor." She smiled back at him.

"You are going to see my brother?" He asked cautiously as they began walking down the corridor together.

Nodding she folded her hands over her chest. "He said something yesterday, so I thought that maybe he could help me." She explained with her hands before being pulled to a stop by a large hand on her arm. "What?"

Thor was looking at her intensely, frowning she shook off a feeling of distrust which was radiating from him. "What did he say to you? Tess he is not to be trusted in his current state of mind." Pursing her lips she placed her hands on his arms and tried to do what she had been hiding from.

"Feel better?" Thors face relaxed as she removed her hands, placing them behind her back. He nodded, "There are things I need to know Thor, like why I can take away people's feelings, or make them feel whatever I want them to." She laughed in disdain, "Or why I erupt into blue flames when I get upset or angry."

His face softened as she looked at the ground lost in thought, "What did he say?" She looked up and began to argue back, "I only wish to speak with my brother first. Now, what did Loki tell you?"

Nodding she motioned for them to continue walking, "I asked him to tell me about the Tesseract, he said that nothing could compare to its power; that whoever wielded it could reshape reality. Then he said that there had been many of them before telling me a tale of one that he was told when he was young. The one about-"

"A cube that began twisting reality." Thor finished and stopped at the door to Loki's cage. Tess' head bobbed, "Except that's about as far as he got before you came in."

Thor looked down at the girl sympathetically, "I will speak to him." He spoke softly and placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly as she smiled up at him with a confused thanks.

He watched while she wandered back down the way they had come, taking a deep breath he strode into the room confidently.

"Loki," Loki turned slightly to look at his brother before turning away once again. "you cannot fill her head with tales." His voiced vibrated around the room.

Loki scowled and turned to face Thor, his oaf of a brother who had the nerve to tell _him_ what he could and couldn't do. "I believe that our conversations are private."

"I know what you are thinking brother," His stony face remained static, "the tale- it was nothing more than that. A childs bedtime story!"

"No!" Loki spat back, "You've seen it, you've witnessed her 'episode', as she calls it." He began walking forwards, "You've felt how she manipulates feelings, see's people's memories."

"Loki this is madness-"

"She knew of Asgard, Thor! She knew it was gold! She must be-"

"Loki," His eyes focused on Thor, "You cannot use her." His face changed to one of understanding, "If she isn't-"

"If I'm not what?" A small voice spoke from the doorway. The two Gods turned to watch Tess march over to the edge of the glass cage, placing herself next to Thor she eyed the pair in turn. "Well?"

"Tessa I don't think-"

"No, Thor!" She shouted as her temper flared, "I've gone my entire _life_ wondering who I am and now I have a _hint _of hope of finding out and you want to _keep_ it from me?!" Loki stepped towards the edge of the glass as her fingers began glowing with a blue flame.

"Tess calm down," He spoke quickly, "Thor- her hands." Thors eyes widened slightly when he saw what his brother was talking about, "Tess we'll tell you. I'll tell you, but you must calm yourself." They watched with bated breath as the fire died out, and her eyes opened.

"Then tell me." Thor and Loki exchanged glances before speaking.

"The Cube itself began twisting reality uncontrollably. The nature of the Tesseracts energy are never defined. They are such that after a sufficient but undefined period of time, the matrix will become self-aware and evolve into an independent, free-willed being still possessed of the original cubes tremendous powers." Loki watched as she looked down in thought and confusion, "The new beings overall personality is physically imprinted with the beliefs, desires and personalities of those we wielded it as a cube."

Tess' eyes began to fill up as her chest tightened, "But it is only a tale Tess-" Thor started to place a comforting hand on her shoulder before it was thrown off.

She glared at the two of them, "So what? I'm a _thing._ A cube? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" She shot at Thor, "And you," She rounded on Loki who looked surprised at her outburst, "if you're using the Tesseract then that means that you're just using _me_! I thought you were a good person, misguided, but good none-the-less!" She shook her head in disgust and turned for the door.

"Tessa!" Thor began walking after the distraught woman.

"Thor," Loki began, "Leave her." His eyes looked after her, as soon as the doors shut he turned back to Thor.

"She didn't need to know that story!" Thor pounded on the glass, Loki snarled and pounded back.

"Didn't need to know? She could potentially be the most powerful and dangerous weapon in this universe and you wish to just let her be?!" Thor began to pace as Loki continued, "What if she was to lose control? You remember what Odin said happened the last time a cube turned sentient!"

Thor stopped his pacing when a thought struck his mind, "But why?" He wondered aloud, "Why did she evolve? The last time-"

"Was because the world in which it resided was threatened." He finished for him as a look of understanding fell upon his face, "The Tesseract became sentient when it felt the needs of the Earth." He realised, but that would mean…_That it was Thanos and the Chitauri who are awakening her full powers. If they discover her-_

"You cannot use her, brother." Loki turned angrily towards Thor and stalked forward menacingly.

"Leave me." He spoke low, his threatening gaze piercing Thors before he turned away. Thor stared at his brother in question, Loki had always been cryptic in his meanings, but there was something Thor didn't understand. Nodding to himself he decided to deal with him another time, right now his priority was Tess.

He began marching towards the exit that Tess had taken, "Thor," He stopped in his tracks when Loki called out to him. Half turning backwards to see Loki facing him he waited, "keep her safe." Silently agreeing he strode out of the room, leaving Loki alone to his thoughts once again.

…**So? What do you guys reckon? Is Tess a Cosmic Cube turned sentient? It sure would explain a lot of things huh? ;) And what's up with Loki being all 'nice' all of a sudden? Well, as nice as the God of Mischief can be anyway. Let me know what you think of this chappie and any thoughts you guys have!**

**P.S. I'm at a wedding this weekend so the last chance I'll have to post another chapter is tomorrow, if I have enough time. If not then the next chapter will be posted on Sunday, I hope you guys can wait that long?! :P**

_**-Readers Assemble!-**_


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